Reading the Last Olympian
by Demi-god In Hiding
Summary: Yes, I know it's overdone. And yes, I know so may others have been exactly the same. So I'm here to shake things up a bit. Held a week after the end of Mark of Athena, and what's this about Hazel's curse while they're reading? More characters come but for now it's just Jason, Hazel, Piper, Leo, Frank, Nico, and all the Olympians. The Olympians are staying in their Greek form.
1. Chapter 1

**Me: Hi Percy! How are you? I'm great! What's your favorite animal, color, food? I want soda!**

**Percy: ALRIGHT! WHO GAVE HER SUGAR!?**

**Me: I didn't have any sugar! It's definiatly not in my backpack!**

**Percy: I'm taking that away from you! *runs towards backpack***

**Me: NICO! *Nico shadow-travels in***

**Me: Catch! *throws sugar to Nico***

**Nico: Demi-God In Hiding doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or this sugar! *runs through shadow with sugar***

**Me: TRAITOR!**

Reading The Last Olympian

_Time period: 1 week after Percabeth fell into Tartarus._

**Nico Pov**

I ran past through the hallways to get to my room. I really needed to take my anger out on something. How could this happen? They're both like my older siblings! I lost Bianca already, I just simply cannot lose Annabeth and Percy! It's unimaginable! I grabbed my sword and headed out to get to the ship's arena. We were currently waiting at the Doors of Death in Leo's war ship, still no sign of them. Before I could chop a dummie's head off, a clear pool of water appeared underneath me. I fell in...

"OH HADES NO! I AM NOT LEANING OVER THE EDGE!" I swear I heard Hazel yell. I looked up and saw Jason, Leo, Hazel, Piper, and Frank looking through a hole as I fell through the mysterious black tunnel.

"YOU GUYS! Help! I'm fell in!" My voice carried up to them. I saw Hazel throw a tortued look at the rest of the group, then watched as she jumped through. She caught up to me and grabbed onto my arm. "I don't know where we're going but I know your not going without me." She shot me a smile. The rest of the group was arguing and Jason looked like he got and idea. He hopped in and held onto our hands and I could tell he was trying to fly us up. By now, we had fell so far that I couldn't see the hole that still had Leo and Frank behind it. Jason's face fell.

"I can't use my powers!" He announced. I sighed and we kept waiting for the tunnel to end.

**Leo Pov**

"Okay, they're not back yet. I say we go with them. You know, saftey in numbers and all that?" My voice sounded dead. Once again, we had lost members of our group to a hole in the ground. **(AN: By this I mean Percabeth falling into Tartarus, just so ya know. Peace out!)**

Frank reluctantly stepped into the hole all dramatic like. I threw myself in and watched as we free fell through the darkness. I lit my finger up with a small flame and saw everyone looking at me with worried expressions. But I guess that's to be expected, I mean we're falling through some random tunnel.

**Hazel Pov**

Nico looked absoloutly miserable. I could tell he felt guilty for us getting swallowed up by the darkness, I patted his arm. We had been falling for about 5 minutes when Jason gave a gasp of surprise. "Guys look!" He yelled to us in excitement, "Theres a light! It's the end of the tunnel!" I don't understand why he's so happy. If that's the end of the tunnel that meant we were most likely gonna crash land, but who knows? Maybe some pillows will appear below us. "GET READY!" Nico bellowed. Everyone grabbed eachother's arms. 5...4...3...2..1.

**3rd Person (a.k.a. no one)**

The tensions were high for all the Olympians because of something or another. Posideon looked ready to kill Athena and vice-versa. Hades just sat back on his temporary throne and gritted his teeth as Demeter lectured him. Ares kept glaring at Hephastus everytime he said anything to Aphrodite, who was currently trying to shove make-up into Artemis's hands. Apollo was walking around the room no doubt righting more haikus in his notebook, but you could tell even he was ticked off. The rest of them were pacing back and forth in front of their thrones. **(AN: Sorry about being so discribtive, write in the comments if I should cut it down.)**

Though, shortly after they were cut of by a boy's voice. "G-G-G- uys- uys- uys!" It echoed around the Throne Room. Everybody looked up at the hole in the ceiling, and gasps rang out among everyone. "GET READY!" Someone yelled and 6 people were speading towards the room. Posideon snapped his fingers in the mili-second they had left and a giant swimming pool broke the kid's fall.

**Piper Pov**

The water consumed us, Annabeth once told me that if you hit water from high up, it would be like hitting cement. But you know, who cares about logic? My eyes stung a little as I widened them underwater. Swimming up and breaking the water's surface I scan the room. Must be the Throne Room, Percy had told me about it. Leo, Frank, and Hazel's eyes locked onto mine. "NICO!" Hazel screeched and dove underwater as Leo yelled "JASON!" And Me and him dunked underwater to find him. This pool was huge! It almost covered the entire floor except for under the thrones. 30 seconds passed by as we tried to find him. THERE HE IS! I sped towards him and pulled him up from the ground of the pool. "Apollo! Come over here and help him! He must of hit his head on the ground and he just almost drowned!" I didn't care if I was being disrespectful right then, besides, Percy said he and Apollo were great friends, I could just tell him we were Percy's pals and to please not disintagrate us. Apollo just stood there with his mouth hanging open, like most of the other gods and goddesses.

**Hazel Pov**

"Well come on! Do what she says! You can't just let him die!" I pleaded and my words snapped everyone out of their shock. I wonder why Piper's charmspeak didn't work on them, maybe because they're used to Aphrodite's? I pumped Nico's chest and he spit out half a gallon of water and started breathing. I let the tears drop as I hugged him. No more of my friends were going to die, especially not my brother!

"What just happened?" Hermes questioned no one in particular as Apollo gave Jason CPR.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" Zeus thundered and glared at our group. Frank and I stood up and I held Nico by the arm to keep him from falling. I bowed to Zeus and the boys quickly followed my lead. "Thank you, Lord Posideon for saving us. Could you tell me what time it is?" I asked them in a curious tone. The others looked at me like I was crazy, but I had a theroy that we weren't in the time we were in 5 minutes previous. "ARE YOU MOCKING US? I OUGHT TO BLAST YOU OFF OLYP-" Zeus yelled with a furious look upon his face.

"It's 5:32pm" Hades answered me. I smiled at him. "Also, what year is it?" My voice timid, though I already had a good feeling on the date.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! SHE IS MAKING FUN OF-" The King of the Gods was inturupted once again by Hades.

"January, 1942" He replied. I smirked and cast a look at Nico, who was shivering from the water. I slipped of my sweatshirt and handed it to him, "You need it more than I do." I told him. He gratefully accepted the offering and wrapped himself in the fuzzy, black material.

"Hey guys," I called out to my friends, Leo, Piper, and Jason were sitting in a line staring at me. All the gods **(An: Last one, I promise! When I say gods I mean gods and goddesses, we good? Great.) **had their gazes trained on me. "Welcome to my time." I announced. Just then, a box took a suicide jump through the hole and almost hit me on the head, but Nico pushed me out of the way. I picked up the box and pried it open. "It's a book," I was cut off by Apollo and Hermes groaning in disapointement. Jason shot a glare at them, warning them to shut up, surprisingly, it worked. "It's called the- the- Grrr... I hate dyslexia!"

Artemis strolled forward and kindly asked me for the book. I obliged. "Now, it is called The Last Olympian." Frank glanced at Hestia, he probally heard a story from Percy about this.

**Leo Pov**

"Right! So... I'm guessing that some crazy chick is the cause of all this," Cue some girl's diabolical laughter, "Told ya!" I'm just so awesome! Maybe I can reason with her! "HEY CRAZY CHICK!" I screamed at the ceiling, "WHY ARE WE HERE AND IS THERE ANY FOOD? I'M STARVING!"

A note floated down through the hole in the roof and landed on Athena's lap.

Well, I'm not giving up on that food. "I SAID I'M STARVING!" I yelled and a taco raced down the tunnel and landed in my hand. "Yes! Score 1 for Leo!" I acted on impulse. Posideon snapped hi fingers and the pool was gone so my group got up from being cramped in the corners of the room and stood in front of everyone. I sighed at the stares I was receiving, whatever, I got a taco! I did a little happy dance in my head and dug into my food.

"Ahem," Athena cleared her throat and proceided to read the note.

**_ AN: Good? Terrible? I want to hear something from the comments. And who's pov should I do next. I'm thinking that because Hazel died in 1942, the year they are in right now, that she should have really bad luck. Like how that book almost squashed her. What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Frank, do the disclaimer please.**

**Frank: Tell Leo to do it.**

**Me: Leo, do the disclaimer please.**

**Leo: Tell Perc-**

**Me: NOW!**

**Leo: Demi-God In Hiding doesn't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 2

**No One's Pov**

"The note says

Dear Olympians,

I, the awesome person I am, have sent these Half-bloods back in time to read a book with you. I did this because I am in need of a good fanfiction. It is necsserary that you read the entire book. The demi-gods cannot return to their time until it's finished. You are not to harm them or eachother. (*cough* Zeus*cough*) Half-bloods, introduce yourselves but do not talk about you time. Also, Hazel, seeing as it's _that _year, you will most likely have really bad luck. Have Fun!

Yours truly,

**DGH**

**Jason Pov**

"Well, THANKS SO MUCH CRAZY PERSON!" Leo screamed at the sky with sarcasm. Uh, my throat hurts so much! So does my head. Gosh, you'd think this crazy girl would've planned this better. "Who will introduce themselves first!?" Zeus demanded. I caught Piper's kalidoscope eyes and together we pushed Leo forward. That's wierd, I could've sworn I saw Hestia laugh. Hmm... Maybe the gods Greek forms are more layed back then their Roman forms.

"Alright, alright. No need to be so pushy! I am Leo Valdez, son of the most awesome god, Hephastus!" He said in a dramatic voice. Oh Leo. I saw said god had a curious glint in his eyes. I stepped up, "I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." Hades and Posideon looked ticked off. So, they made the oath 3 years ago, in 1939. Zeus was confused.

"Why are the Greeks and the Romans together? And how come your not killing eachother yet?" Athena questioned.

"We are an odd group." Guess that could be an excuse.

Piper strolled forward. "Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite." Aphrodite smiled beautifully and waved at her. Piper gave a small grin in return.

Frank creeped forward, probally nervous. "Frank Zhang, son of Mars." Ares looked critically at him, then looked taken aback. I know, Frank doesn't fit the children of the war god steriotype.

Hazel stayed in place, "Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto. Hades already knows her, I guess because she already exist in this time. Though, he also looked _very_ bewildered.

Nico glanced up, he had stopped trembling, "Why'd you almost drown?" Hera asked.

"He can't swim, obviously." Dionysus answered.

"Nico Di'Angelo, son of Hades." He stated.

Hestia snapped her fingers and 4 couches appeared. Nico sat next to Hazel, Jason sat next to Piper, Leo just plopped down on the ground, and Frank took the last couch. Artemis held up the book and waved it in the air. "Who would like to read?" Aphrodite raised her hand and Artemis threw it to her.

**Leo Pov**

**I Go Crusing With Explosives**

**The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car.**

"Okay, well that's not strange at all." Apollo interupted. Hermes chuckeled under his breath.

**Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but my mom and stepdad, Paul, took my friend Rachel and me to this private stretch of beach on South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius for a short spin.**

"Wow, that is so irresponsible of him!" Athena scolded.

Aphrodite giggled and read

**Now, I know you're thinking, **_**Wow, that was really irresponsible of him, blah, blah, blah**_**, but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slice up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so he probably figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't exactly the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.**

"Sounds like a cool life!" Ares shouted. Ares is a crazy person! But it takes one to know one. I really want to know who this guy is.

**Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and she looked like a million golden drachmas.**

"It's our Rachel! Maybe this is Percy!" Nico yelled to us. Excitement gleamed in his, Hazel's, and Jason's eyes, but then it died down when we remembered where they were right now.

"Who's Perky?" Dionysus asked dully.

"_Percy._ Not Perky, not Pierre, it's _Percy! _Get it right for once in your life!" Piper exclaimed with a bit of charmspeak. Mr.D was most likely not used to it so his eyes glazed and he said "Percy."

"**Oh, pull up right there!" she told me.**

**We parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one of my favorite places, but today it was especially nice – glittery green and smooth as glass, as though my dad was keeping it calm just for us.**

**My dad, by the way, is Poseidon. He can do stuff like that.**

"Yep, it's definatly Percy! Probably from a few years back." Frank concluded.

"**So." Rachel smiled at me. "About that invitation."**

"**Oh… right." I tried to sound excited. I mean, she'd asked me to her family's vacation house on the St. Thomas for three days. **

"Wow, that sounds great!" I grinned.

"But he won't be able to go, you'll see why in a second." Nico said gloomfully. **(AN: Is that a word?) **

**I didn't get a lot of offers like that. My family's idea of a fancy vacation was a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and here Rachel's folks were willing to let me tag along to the Caribbean.**

**Besides, I seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the hardest of my life. The idea of taking a break even for a few days was really tempting. **

**Still, something really big was supposed to go down any day now. I was "on call" for a mission. Even worse, next week was my birthday. There was this prophecy that said that when I turned sixteen, bad things would happen.**

"Worst. Timing. Ever." Apollo announced causing me and Hazel to laugh. The others just smiled because they knew how bad Percy's luck could get.

"**Percy," she said, "I know the timing is bad. But it's **_**always**_** bad for you, right?"**

**She had a point.**

"**I really want to go," I promised. "It's just–"**

"**The war?"**

Zeus, Posideon, and Hades shared worried glances, while the rest of the gods were deep in thought.

**I nodded. I didn't like talking about it, but Rachel knew. Unlike most mortals, she could see through the mist – the magic veil that distorts human vision. She'd seen monsters. She'd met some of the other demigods who were fighting the Titans and their allies. She'd even been there last summer when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she'd earned my permanent respect by nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.**

Everyone burst into laughter, "that's our Rachel, alright!" I said while gasping for breath.

Everyone except the big three, they're the only ones that heard the name 'Kronos' and didn't get distracted by the mortal.

**She put her hand on my arm. "Just think about it, ok? We don't leave for a couple of days. My dad…" Her voice faltered. **

"**Is he giving you a hard time?" I asked.**

**Rachel shook her head in disgust. "He's trying to be **_**nice**_** to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy in the fall."**

"So she doesn't want to go?" Demeter inferenced.

"Um, Rachel is more of a free spirit. She's an artist and she acts like it." Piper told her.

"Creative and unique." Nico added.

Whizzzz!

A baseball was flying so fast you could hardly see it! It was rushing towards Hazel's face!

**Nico Pov**

This random baseball was flying towards Hazel's face! I dived in front of her and the baseball pounded into my arm, well at least it didn't rip my arm of. "Ow!" I yelled as the feeling of fire pulsed through my veins. Hazel was staring at me in shock. What was I supposed to do? If it hit her head it would probably cause brain damage! Sure, I'd take a brocken arm to keep my sister from getting serious injuries. Apollo came over and helped me up, "Come on, let's go to the infirmery." He started walking and I followed him, clutching my arm.

**Hazel Pov**

"Dammit!" I screeched. It's all my fault that Nico's hurt! This stupid curse! Just because I die this year I get a bunch of life-threatning situations! "AH! Just-just-just grrr..." I exclaimed. Now I'm guilty and angry! I stood up and started pacing to blow off some of my steam. The Olympian's eyes were chasing me as I walked back a forth.

"It's okay, Hazel, Apollo can fix is arm." Frank tried to comfort me.

"What do I do when it happens again!?" I yelled. Frank backed up. Now I feel bad, he was just trying to help and I yelled at him.

"I'm sorry, Frank. I'm just really upset with myself right now." I explained softly. Hephastus cleared his throat ver loudly to get our attention. I stopped pacing and we looked up at him.

"What do you mean when it happens again? If you don't mind me asking." He asked cautiously, like he was afraid or something.

**Hades Pov**

My daughter can be scary when she's mad! Hephastus asked the queston thats been bugging me.

She took a deep breath and spoke, "This is the year I die." What! How is that even possible?! Who brought her back from the dead then? "So now I'm gonna have really bad things happening to me! Like almost dying from a baseball. A baseball! Can you believe it?" She started of slow but got faster and faster. "And now Nico is hurt and it's all my fault and I don't want more people injured!" Then she started pacing again.

Wow, what weird personalities. Just then some guy ran in, he looked pretty nervous. "I am so sorry! My baseball flew in here before I could stop it! It, like, reversed itself in mid-air then flew through the door!" Posideon waved it off and threw him the baseball. It was the curse that is to blame, not him. He was surprised but quickly thanked him than he ran out.

**Nico Pov**

I walked into the throne room. I feel so guilty! Hazel's probably furious that I let myself get hurt! My arm was healing and I told Apollo that I wanted to keep reading. Never thought I'd say that. I scanned the room. My sister was pacing around and some of the gods cringed back whenever she walked by them. I know, right! Hazel can be scary when she's mad!

"Sorry, Hazel." I apoligized when she looked at me.

"What are you sorry for? You saved me from the baseball!" She exclaimed.

"I thought you'd be mad about something." I put in.

She laughed. "Well then, it's okay." I smiled and sat down next to her. Hades looks totally confused. "Are we gonna read or what?" I asked them.

Aphrodite cleared her throat and began.

"**The school where your mom went?"**

"**It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in a finishing school?"**

**I had to admit the idea sounded pretty dumb. Rachel was into urban arts projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to "Save the Endangered Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker" and stuff like that. I'd never seen her wear a dress. It was hard to imagine her learning to be a socialite.**

"Yeah it is!" Leo broke the tension, I was grateful to him for that.

**She sighed. "He thinks that if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in."**

"**Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?"**

"**Yes… but Percy you'd be doing me a huge favor. It would be so much better if you were with us. Besides, there's something I wanted to talk–" She stopped abruptly.**

"**Something you wanted to talk about?" I asked. "You mean… so serious that we'd have to go to St. Thomas to talk about it?"**

Ares snickered.

"Percy is so clueless when it comes to girls." Piper said like she was remembering something.

**She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together."**

**I could tell something was bothering her, but she put on a brave smile. The sunlight made her hair look like fire.**

**We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag.**

"Does he really have it that bad?" Artemis questioned.

"Yes" We all spoke in usion.

Posideon was upset, you tell that much. He didn't want his son to get hurt, even if he'd never met him.

"**Okay," I said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people.**

**She nodded. "And so… hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"**

"**Oh…" I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows – slow, dumb, and bright red. "Um…"**

"HEY!" Apollo called out, but he could barely be heard over our laughing. I had a feeling there wasn't going to be a lot of funny moments in this book, so I wanted to enjoy them when they came.

**I can't pretend that I hadn't thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than… well, some other girls I knew. I didn't have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn't hide much. She let you know how she felt.**

**I'm not sure what I would have done next – but I was so distracted, I didn't notice the huge black form swooping down from the sky until four hooves landed on the hood of the Prius with a **_**WUMP–WUMP–CRUNCH**_**.**

_**Hey boss,**_** a voice said in my head, **_**nice car!**_

"Correction: It _was_ a nice car!" Hermes stated, no one was without a smile.

"Blackjack!" Jason said happily.

"You've met Blackjack?" I asked. He nodded still wearing his grin.

**Blackjack the Pegasus was an old friend of mine, so I tried not to get to annoyed by the craters he'd just put in the hood; but I didn't think my stepdad would be real stoked.**

"Yeah, Paul's gonna be heartbrocken!" Leo said dramaticaly.

"**Blackjack," I sighed, "What are you–"**

**Then, I saw who was riding on his back, and I knew my day was about to get a lot more complicated.**

"**Sup, Percy."**

**Charles Beckendorf, **

Leo smiled, most likely happy that he got to hear about his half-brother.

**senior counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, would make most monsters cry for their mommies. **

Hephastus had that proud look in his eyes for his future son. I sighed. This was going to be a tough chapter for him.

**He was huge, with ripped muscles from working on the forges every summer, two years older than me, and one of the camps best armorsmiths. He made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. A month before, he'd rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across the country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's evil meanies as soon as the first harpy went **_**flush**_**.**

I glanced at Piper and Jason, who were red in the face from holding in their laughter, I'm sure I must of looked like a cherry. Frank started laughing. Our will power crumbled and it took 4 minutes for us to calm down. Apollo, Hermes, and Hephastus were right along with us gasping for air.

**Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and a war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bad was slung over his shoulder.**

"**Time?" I asked.**

**He nodded grimly.**

**A clump formed in my throat. I'd known this was happen. We'd been planning it for week, but I'd half hoped it would never happen. **

"Be brave! This is WAR!" Ares shouted like a maniac.

**Rachel looked up at Beckendorf. "Hi."**

"**Oh, hey. I'm Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy's told me… uh, he mentioned you."**

"Nice save." Zeus added.

**Rachel raised and eyebrow. "Really? Good." She glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood of the Prius. "So I guess you guys have to go save the world now."**

"See? Rachel is just cool like that!" Piper told everyone.

"**Pretty much," Beckendorf agreed.**

**I looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell my mom–"**

"**I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood."**

"What a great friend!" Hestia said nicely.

**I nodded my thanks. I figured this would be the last time Paul loaned me his car.**

"**Good luck," Rachel kissed me before I could even react. "Now get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me."**

**My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat of the Prius, her arms crossed, watching as Blackjack circled higher and higher, carrying Beckendorf and me into the sky. I wondered what Rachel wanted to talk to me about, and whether I would live long enough to find out.**

"Such a pessimist." Hera inferenced while shaking her head.

"**So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth."**

"**Oh gods," I muttered, "Don't even think about it."**

"Who's Annabeth? And why would she be mad about that?" Athena asked suspiciously.

"She's his best friend and everyone can tell she has a crush on him, but they're not dating or anything. Also, Annabeth hated Rachel back then because they had to ask for her help on one of Annabeth's quests." Nico explained quickly.

The gods nodded their heads.

**Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic.**

**It was almost dark by the time we spotted our target. The **_**Princess Andromeda**_** glowed on the horizon–a huge cruise ship lit up in yellow and white. **

**From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. **

"They're going to take out his ship, impressive if they can." Dionysus concluded.

**Then, as you got closer, you might notice the giant figurehead–a dark-haired maiden in a chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry.**

**Seeing the ship again twisted my stomach in knots. I'd almost died twice on the **_**Princess Andromeda**_**. Now it was headed for New York.**

I snorted. "Like Percy's gonna let them into his state, let alone city."

"**You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind.**

**I nodded. We'd done dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. I knew how little time we would have. But I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos's invasion before it ever started.**

"It's not going to work," Hera murmured under her breath. Nobody heard her.

"**Blackjack," I said, "Set us down on the lowest stern deck.**

_**Gotcha, boss,**_** he said. **_**Man, I hate seeing that boat**_**.**

**Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the **_**Princess Andromeda **_**until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.**

No one commented. Everyone was nervous. Posideon and Hephastus mostly.

"**Don't wait for us," I told him.**

_**But boss**_**–**

"**Trust me," I said, "We'll get out by ourselves."**

**Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat like a black comet. The wind whistled in my ears. I saw monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship–**_**dracaenae**_** snake-women, hellhounds, giants, and the humanoid seal-demons known as telkhines–but we zipped by so fast none of them raised the alarm. We shot down to the stern of the boat, and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck. I climbed off, feeling queasy.**

_**Good luck, boss,**_** Blackjack said. **_**Don't let 'em turn you into horse meat!**_

"Oh Blackjack." Apollo sighed.

**With that, my old friend flew off into the night. I pulled out my pen and uncapped it, and Riptide sprang to life–three feet of deadly Celestial bronze glowing in the dusk.**

I shivered. Hades saw and mouthed 'What happened?' I mouthed back Don't ask.'

That sword is terrifying, 'specially when it's in Percy's hands.

**Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realized it was a photograph.**

"Block your ears!" Piper yelled. Everyone but Leo covered their ears.

**He stared at it in the dim light- the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. **

"AWWWWWW!" Aphrodite squealed. Leo fell unconscience.

**They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying "Duh, you guys like each other!" Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf had been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him. **

"That is ADORABLE!" Three guess who said that. Hephastus smiled, happy that Charlie was happy.

**"We'll make it back to camp," I promised.**

**For a second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile. **

**"You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million of pieces."**

**Beckendorf led the way. We followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like we'd practiced, but we froze when we heard noises above us. **

"Uh oh." Hermes whispered.

**"I don't care what your noses says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice- a telkhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!" **

Leo shot up. "Did someone say sandwich!?"

A sandwich flew out from the ceiling and landed on him. "Yes! Score 2 for Leo!"

We ignored him and Aphrodite kept reading.

**"Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!" **

**"Bah, your **_**brain**_** isn't on board!" **

**They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. We descended as quietly as we could. Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade. **

**Finally, we came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words "engine room." **

**It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter. **

"I want some!" Travis Stoll complained

Wait, Travis Stoll?

"Dude! How'd you get here!" I exclaimed. Connor walked up beside him.

"We jumped through a hole and now we're here. Is there any food?"

Two hamburgers fell out of the tunnel and landed on them. "Thanks!" They yelled together.

Travis did the peace out sign and another portal opened up below them, they dropped out.

"Okkkkaaaaaayyyyy." Demeter dragged out.

**Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice us. **

**He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on . **

**I stepped forward, and he tensed, probably smelling something wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide, and he exploded into dust.**

"Percy is the best swordsman in the past 300 years, you know." I informed them.

They were shocked but Aphrodite continued.

**"One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid- Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. The he threw me another essential tool of the demigod heroes- duct tape. **

**"Slap that one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines." **

**We went to work. The room was hot and humid, and in no time we were drenched in sweat. **

"Yuck." Hera grimanced.

**The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how, but I could tell we were at 40.19 North, 71.90 West, making eighteen knots, which meant the ship would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn. This would be our only chance to stop it. **

**I had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps- so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign. **

"Maybe they would turn around any second and walk back up the stairs." Frank said weakly.

"With Percy's luck? Not a chance." I crushed his optimistic state.

**I locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?" **

**"Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least." **

**Judging from the sound of the footsteps, we had about ten seconds. **

**"I'll distract them," I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point." **

**"Percy-" **

**"Wish me luck." **

**He looked like he wanted to argue. The whole idea had been to get in and out without being spotted. But we were going to have to improvise. **

**"Good luck," he said. **

**I charged out the door.**

"Well, he's brave, I'll give him that." Ares complimented.

**A half dozen telkhines were tromping down the stairs. I cut through them with Riptide faster than they could yelp. I kept climbing – past another telkhine, who was so started he dropped his Lil' Demons lunch box. I left him alive- partly because his lunch box was cool, partly so he could raise the alarm and hopefully get his friends to follow me rather than head towards the engine room.**

"Good idea." Athena congratulated.

**I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running. I'm sure the carpeted hall had once been very plush, but over the last three years of monster occupation the wallpaper, carpet, and stateroom had been clawed up and slimed so it looked like the inside of a dragon's throat (and yes, unfortunately, I speak from experience.)**

**Back on my first visit to the **_**Princess Andromeda**_**, my old enemy Luke had kept some dazed tourist on board for show, shrouded in Mist so they didn't realize they were on a monster-infested ship. Now I didn't see any sign of tourists. I hated to think what had happened to them, but I kind of doubted they'd been allowed to go home with their bingo winnings.**

**I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and I stopped the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain. And in the fountain squatted a giant crab.**

Leo's stomach grumbled. I couldn't believe he was still hungry.

**I'm not talking "giant" like $7.99 all-you-can-eat Alaskan king crab. I'm talking **_**giant**_** like bigger than the fountain. The monster rose ten feet out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body. **

**If you've ever seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits, you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size. **

**Its beady black eyes glared at me, and I could see intelligence in them- and hate. The fact that I was the son of the sea god was not going to win me any points with Mr. Crabby. **

"That sucks." Hades added.

**"**_**FFFFfffffff**_**," it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off it was like garbage can full of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week. **

**Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company and I had to keep moving.**

"You can do this, son." Posideon encouraged.

**"Hey, crabby." I inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so-" **

**The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping. I dove into a gift shop, plowing through a rack if T-shirts. A crab pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room. I dashed back outside, breathing heavily, but Mr. Crabby turned and followed. **

**"There!" a voice said from a balcony about me. "Intruder!" **

**If I'd wanted to create a distraction, I'd succeeded, but this was not where I wanted to fight. If I got pinned down in the center of the ship, I was crab chow. **

**The demonic crustacean lunged at me. I sliced with Riptide, taking off the tip of its claw. It hissed and foamed, but didn't seem very hurt. **

**I tried to remember anything from the old stories that might help with this thing. Annabeth had told me about a monster crab- something about Hercules crushing it under his big foot? That wasn't going to work here. This crab was slightly bigger than my Reeboks. **

"Only slightly." Hestia tried to break the tension, it sort of worked. She received a few smiles.

**Then a weird thought occurred to me. Last Christmas, my mom and I had brought Paul Blofis to our old cabin at Montauk, where we'd been going forever. Paul had taken me crabbing, and when he'd brought up a net full of the things, he'd shown me how crabs have a chink in their armor, right in the middle of their ugly bellies. **

**The only problem was getting to the ugly belly. **

**I glanced at the fountain, then at the marble floor, already slick from scuttling crab tracks. I held out my hand, concentrating on the water, and the fountain exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, three stories high, dousing the balconies and the elevators and the windows of the shops. The crab didn't care. It loved water. It came at me sideways, snapping and hissing, and I ran straight at it, screaming, "AHHHHHHH!" **

"Nice battle cry." Jason said with sarcasm.

**Just before we collided, I hit the ground baseball-style and slid on the wet marble floor straight under the creature. It was like sliding under a seven-ton armored vehicle. All the crab had to do was sit and squash me, but before it realized what I was going on, I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armor, let go of the hilt, and pushed myself out the backside. **

"NINJA PERCY!" Me, Frank, Leo, Apollo, and Hermes shouted together.

**The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor in a massive heap. **

**I didn't have time to admire my handiwork. **

**I ran for the nearest stairs while all around me monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons. I was empty-handed. Riptide, being magic, would appear in my pocket sooner or later, but for now it was stuck somewhere under the wreckage of the crab, and I had no time to retrieve it.**

...Line Break...

**AN: I will finish this tomorrow or tonight. Good? Terrible? Tell me in the comments! Critism welcomed with open arms!**

**-DGH (which stands for ****D****emi-****G****od in ****H****iding)**


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